WAVELENGTH

distance between corresponding points of two consecutive waves. "Corresponding points" refers to two points or particles in the same phase-i.e., points that have completed identical fractions of their periodic motion. Usually, in transverse waves (waves with points oscillating at right angles to the direction of their advance), wavelength is measured from crest to crest or trough to trough; in longitudinal waves (waves with points vibrating in the same direction as their advance), it is measured from compression to compression or rarefaction to rarefaction. Wavelength is usually denoted by the Greek letter lambda (l); it is equal to the speed (v) of a wave train in a medium divided by its frequency (f): l = v/f.